‘Dancing With The Stars’ 2019 Scheduling Scoop: No Spring ‘DWTS’ Season Ahead


Fans have been wondering what ABC would do in terms of Dancing with the Stars for 2019 and on Wednesday, some details emerged. Unfortunately, the news may leave many longtime viewers feeling disappointed.

According to Deadline, Dancing with the Stars will seemingly take a break this spring for the first time ever. There had been some indecision about the spring version of the series for a while this past spring, as that is when the network originally planned to do the DWTS Juniors version and then that got pushed out.

As a somewhat last-minute creation, the network went with a shortened all-athletes version and aired the kids-only version on Sunday nights this past fall. It seems that in part, this shuffling around was due to the debut season of American Idol airing on ABC and shaking things up for where a regular spring DWTS season would have fit.

Now, however, it seems that there will be no Dancing with the Stars presence on ABC this spring at all. What will take the place of DWTS? As some people had speculated a while back, it looks like the network will be putting a second weekly episode of American Idol in that spot instead.

For now, the ABC schedule shows Colton Underwood’s Bachelor season debuting on Monday, January 7, and running through March 11. American Idol premieres for its second ABC season on Sunday, March 3, and it will add Monday episodes after Underwood’s Bachelor season wraps.

However, this is not a full cancellation for Dancing with the Stars. At this point, the show is expected to return with a traditional season in the fall.

This shift in scheduling does not come as a complete surprise to many. For example, even host Tom Bergeron had essentially said this was coming via Twitter not long ago.

As Kristyn Burtt detailed via Dance Network after the last DWTS finale, the key ratings for Dancing with the Stars have dipped a bit, and the finale generated a lot of backlash from the fans after the winner was announced. American Idol is still fresh in its return and the network switch, and it hit advertiser expectations in its first run on ABC.

What about Dancing with the Stars Juniors? It doesn’t look like there’s been a formal announcement one way or the other on that front yet.

Fans are definitely buzzing over the decision to skip a spring season of Dancing with the Stars. In addition, everybody will be curious to see how this impacts the anticipated fall season.

Will the network be able to up the ante on the celebrities they can attract since they’re only casting for one season this coming year? Will the pros be excited and refreshed or looking to move on with what may feel like less opportunity with just one DWTS season slated for ABC?

Dancing with the Stars fans will be curious to see what transpires next on this front as ABC moves forward with this altered schedule. Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

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